Becoming Birmingham: History, Diversity and Collaboration

International students and global connections are part of the University of Birmingham’s DNA, but recent movements such as ‘Decolonising the Academy’ show this can sometimes go overlooked.

A range of speakers, from students to lecturers, have been invited to share their thoughts and findings at the ‘Becoming Birmingham: History, Diversity and Collaboration’ conference, which has been generously funded by the University’s Green Heart Festival, adding ideas of ‘diversity’ to its impressive series of celebrations. The conference seeks to provide an introduction to the University’s and the wider city’s history of engagement with people from around the world.

Join us to hear about the exciting research that a group of University of Birmingham student volunteers, from undergraduate to doctorate level, have been conducting in the University Archives on these themes of ‘History’, ‘Diversity’ and ‘Collaboration’. Alongside these short presentations, we have an exciting line-up of three key speakers: Dr Manu Sehgal (University of Birmingham), Dr Michell Chresfield (University of Birmingham), Dr Pippa Virdee (De Montfort University), and an external guest from the organisation, Beatfreeks.

All welcome, but registration essential.

The conference will take place via Zoom.

Please email the organiser, Ellen Smith: ecss3@leicester.ac.uk with any questions about the event. Looking forward to seeing you all soon for this end-of-term research afternoon.

Programme

14:00 - 14:10:  Welcome.

14:10 - 14:30:  Dr Manu Sehgal (Lecturer, University of Birmingham).

14:30 - 14:40:  Rahma Mohamed and Tamanna Rakib (University of Birmingham history undergraduate students).

14:40 - 15:00:  Dr Michell Chresfield (Lecturer, University of Birmingham).

15:00 - 15:15:  Q&A with all speakers.

15:15 - 15:25:  Break.

15:25 - 15:35:  India Nathan (University of Birmingham, Modern British Studies MA alumna).

15:35 - 15:55:  Dr Pippa Virdee (Reader in Modern South Asian History, De Montfort University).

15:55 - 16:10:  Eugene Thabo Hilton (Community Developer, Don’t Settle, BEATFREEKS).

16:10 - 16:25:  Q&A with all speakers.

16:25 - 16:30:  Closing remarks.